The Cat Who Could Read Backwards

Jim Qwilleran has his string of bad luck since leaving his job with a big city paper, not he has taken a position with the Daily Fluxion, and small town paper, doing a column he has no knowledge on...the art column.  Many of the artists in the town are hopeful that this means the replacement of the ever too critical art critic, many try to convince Qwill of how horrible of a man the art critic is while he attends art functions and does human interest articles on local artists.  Qwill decides to met this critic and ends up living in the same house on a lower level.  While the critic is away, Qwill takes care of his Siamese cat whom Qwill nick-named Koko.  This cat has extra ordinary talents of being able to read backwards and know when something is amiss.  Soon artists and others in the art community become victims of murder.  Qwill's old investigative journalist talents kick in and he begins o try and solve this murder, with the help of Koko of course.  The question is will Qwill be able to find the correct murderer and save the reputation of many artists as well as the critic? Or will he soon become the murderer's next target?

This is a series of books that I read when I was younger and starting to really get into mysteries and longer chapter books aside from the typical baby sitters club (that's like a rite of passage for little girls).  I loved that a cat helped solve mysteries by leading Qwill to different clues and seem to pick up on subtle things the humans in the books don't pick up one.  The cat in this book, Koko reminds me of my friend's cat Artemis (pictured on the left) with his perchance of running around the room, wanting specific food and making his discontent known.  Braun gives the cat as much personality as she does her human characters, which is something you don't see in many books with animal.  Normally the animal is just that an animal whereas in these books, Koko is another personality rather than a prop so to speak. 

I love this series even 20 some years after beginning to read the series and returning to it time and time again.  This is the perfect novel to begin with since I believe it is the beginning of the series as it introduces Qwill and Koko and how they became a dynamic duo. The writing isn't too complex and easy to understand which is one reason why it was great for a youngster as I once was.  There also isn't blood, gore, or sex in it.  Sure Swill has attractions to ladies and flirts a little, but it's all innocent and clean, another reason why it is a great starter series for young readers (and a nice break from stuff included in some books today). This is a short, cozy mystery that is easy to read within a day.  Perfect for a rainy afternoon curled up with your favorite feline. 

I do recommend this book as well as the series to any young reader who wants to grow in their reading library.  I also would recommend this to anyone who loves a cozy mystery, easy to read book or who feels a little nostalgic.  I give the book a 4 out of 5 for a rating, it needed more Koko!